In prior art devices, and particularly those of the energy regeneration type, it has been known to bring contaminated fumes or odors into a combustion chamber for burning the same at a sufficiently high temperature that substantially all that is released into the atmosphere is converted to carbon dioxide and water.
It has also been known that, in the passage of such gases into a combustion chamber, they can preferably and preliminarily pass through stoneware beds on their way to the combustion chamber, which stoneware beds have been pre-heated, so that they, in turn, can preheat the incoming gases so that combustion is assured as soon as the incoming gases pass into the combustion chamber. Sometime, such gases, if they contain volatile organic compounds, can auto-ignite while still in the presence of the stoneware in the stoneware chambers. Generally, however, the principal combustion takes place in the combustion chamber. Periodically, the flow of gases is reversed, such that gases from the combustion chamber pass outwardly through the stoneware chamber, to pre-heat the same, as the products of combustion pass outwardly on their way to atmosphere. Generally such combustion processes alternate the flow through the recovery chambers having stoneware therein, such that the stoneware alternately pre-heats the incoming gases containing the undesired volatile organic compounds, or is itself heated by outgoing gases passing from the combusion chamber to atmosphere. This alternation occurs on a regular basis.
An example of such a sysem is that which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,895,918 issued to James H. Mueller on July 22, 1975, the complete disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
In many of todays manufacturing processes, it is also known that certain substances, such as solvents contain hazardous or toxic chemicals, such as hydrocarbons, including polychlorinated biphenyls ( PCBs ), or other potentially hazardous and/or toxic substances, must be disposed of. When such substances are in liquid form, and are to be disposed of, they can present an environmental problem if the disposal is not done properly. In the past, it has been suggested to dispose of the same by burning them in an incineration apparatus of a type that is intended to burn contaminated fumes or odors, by delivering them into the combustion chambers of such apparatus, whereby exposure to open heat will burn them to destruction. However, such apparatus do not allow for a sufficient residence time of the hazardous and/or toxic liquids, to provide sufficient combustion to reduce such substances to an acceptable level of purity, for example, upwards of ninety-nine percent destruction of hydrocarbons or like substances.